Australia is bidding to host the FIBA World Cup in '23, according to Roy Ward of THE AGE. Basketball Australia CEO Anthony Moore "will head to Geneva this week for a meeting with representatives from other potential host nations" to vie for the 32-team tournament. The competition for hosting rights "is expected to be intense," but Australia's "successful record" of managing int'l sporting events and "Asian-friendly time zone" is expected to be in the country's favor. Australia hosted the women's world championships in '94 and hosted the men's U23 world championships in '97. Moore said that he was "under no illusions how tough the bidding process would be" but Australia would put forward a "strong case." He said, "We have progressed to the next stage, which is a two-day forum in Geneva this week." It's understood the Philippines, Germany, Qatar, Argentina and Turkey "are interested in bidding" for '23. The next FIBA World Cup is in China in '19. Australia "is also looking at a potential joint bid with New Zealand or another Asian nation but no discussions have yet been held." While the FIFA World Cup "is rarely held within the same part of the world for consecutive tournaments, FIBA has made a major move into Asian markets," especially China, "where basketball is booming, so keeping the world cup in this time zone" could be in Australia's favor (THE AGE, 10/30).
